Reach Out and Touch Your Non-Touch Screen? We Did With The Touch Pen

If you’re one of the many people running Windows 8 on a non-touch-screen notebook or desktop computer, you’re missing out on some key touch features. Windows 8 practically beckons the user to touch the screen, and multitouch gestures from the trackpad just aren’t the same. With E FUN’s new apen, unveiled at CES 2013, every Windows 8 device is now touch friendly.

The Windows 8 Touch Pen is powered by E FUN’s own apen technology and has a non-scratch soft brush tip so you won’t need to worry about harming your monitor. There’s also very little latency, so we were able to quickly adjust to using the pen instead of our finger. We played a game of “Fruit Ninja” and were able to slash and chop just like we would on an actual touch screen, a huge improvement over trying to play with the trackpad.

The Windows 8 Touch Pen had two separate components. Besides the pen itself, there’s a small unit that attaches to the left side of your monitor. This piece then plugs directly into an open USB port and monitors the location of the pen on the screen. The pen then recognizes pressure, from touching the monitor, in order to know when the pen is touching the screen and when it’s simply close by. Although this isn’t the prettiest solution, the result is a surprisingly accurate and natural touch experience.

Now you’ll be able to use Windows 8 as intended, whether you’ve upgraded an older notebook to Windows 8 or opted to save a few bucks (and hours of battery life) by getting a new Windows 8 computer without a touch screen.

E FUN’S Windows 8 Touch Pen should be available in stores within the next month or two and will retail for $79. For those who are craving the touch-screen experience but don’t want to buy a new computer, this just may be a less expensive solution to get the most out of Windows 8.